Elderly man attacked with axe

Nelspruit - A 71-year-old resident from White River in Mpumalanga, is in a critical condition in hospital after he was attacked with an axe.

Police provincial spokesperson Leonard Hlathi said the police received a call on Thursday afternoon aout a robbery at a house in Magaliesberg Street.

“On arrival the police found an unconscious elderly man bleeding heavily from wounds to his head. His ID book was lying next to him and a neighbour confirmed that the victim was the house’s occupant, Charles Baty.

"There was a lot of blood in the house and we found an axe lying outside with which he had been attacked.”

Hlathi said “some items” had been stolen from the house but did not specify what these were.

He said that the police’s dog unit had also been called out to search for further evidence.

ER24 paramedics stabilised Baty on the scene before taking him to hospital, where is in a critical condition in the intensive care unit.

According to hospital spokesperson Robyn Baard, Baty’s family, who lives in the US, has been informed about the attack by his goddaughter.